Atacama Desert Trek Overview:

In June and July of 1997, a four year program to develop
technologies for space exploration will culminate in the Atacama Desert Trek.
The robot Nomad, supervised via satellite from thousands of miles away, will
attempt to traverse the Atacama desert while acquiring various forms of
geological data. The command center will be at the Carnegie Science Center in
Pittsburgh, PA, and Nomad's onboard sensors and intelligence will allow it to
be operated by the general public.

For the foreseeable future, our explorers to other worlds
will be robots. Many questions about controlling robotic explorers,
communicating with them over vast distances, and how well they will survive
long duration treks and harsh condition, are currently unanswered. Funded by
NASA, the Atacama Desert Trek will break new ground in the areas of robotic
communication and imagery. Innovative precision pointing of Nomad's antenna to
a satellite relay station will provide data rates much greater than previously
attainable from a moving platform. With this bandwidth the robot can deliver
live 360° panoramic imagery of its surroundings. This imagery will be
displayed live on a 10 foot high, 35 foot wide projection screen at the
ElectricHorizon theatre in the Science Center.

In the Atacama desert, Nomad will traverse harsh terrain analogous to that
found on the Moon and planets. The robot's four wheel drive/four wheel
steering locomotion and innovative suspension system will provide effective
traction, mobility, and propulsion across loose sands, rocks and soils typical
of the Atacama landscape. Unique to Nomad, the chassis expands, increasing
the wheel base and track for improved stability over rugged terrain. Nomad
also has a visual guidance system that calculates the robot's location by
tracking landmarks on the skyline. During periods of lost or degraded
communications, Nomad will use its onboard navigation sensors to continue its
mission, choosing its own path until communications are reestablished.

The Atacama Desert Trek is moving high performance robotic technologies out of
the laboratory and toward space. Beyond its technical objectives, the Atacama
Desert Trek will set new standards of public involvement and educational
outreach. With capabilities forged in the desert, Nomad will serve as the
precursor to robotic explorers destined for other worlds.